


Kings Guardian

by Just_a_fab_redhead



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, F/M, Fluff and Angst, France (Country), Gabriel Agreste Is Not Hawk Moth, No Spoilers, Prince Adrien Agreste, Sad Adrien Agreste, Villain Chat Noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 11:11:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15460080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_a_fab_redhead/pseuds/Just_a_fab_redhead
Summary: France is currently being ruled by the icy King Gabriel Agreste. His son, Adrien, is next in line to the throne but is he really fit to be King? Ladybug is a hero protecting France at night but during the day she is secretly the daughter of a baker, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. A criminal, Chat Noir, has come to oppose Ladybug. But the most curious thing about him is not his cat ears or tail. But the nobles he targets. Which causes Ladybug/Marinette to question who is the true villian. Chat Noir or the King.





	Kings Guardian

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any of the characters but the plot is my own. I have posted a story on fanfiction.net called Abandoning for Good which is also a miraculous Ladybug story. I will not be posting it on AO3 because the first few chapters were rough but I don't want to rewrite them. It's currently on 11 chapters and will continue. Tell me if you want me to rewrite it and post it here. Enjoy the story and please leave comments on what you like and what I could improve. Plus tell me if the chapters aren't long enough. I thought 2,000 words per chapter was good but tell me if they should be longer. Thank you!

“And it is my great honor to award the hero of our kingdom, Ladybug, with the most prestigious award and medal,” The king of France, Gabriel Agreste, proclaimed as he lifted a medal in front of the kneeling Ladybug. “ ‘The Kings Guardian’. ” And with that he pinned the medal to Ladybugs thin suit. 

She felt her chest puff out with pride as the weight of the honor rested on her shoulders. She stood and took her place, standing at the right hand side of the King, next to the crown prince, Adrien Agreste. 

Her face flushed and she wasn’t quite sure whether it was the champagne or the handsome Prince that was close enough to her that their shoulders were touching.

Adrien's face was also very flushed. And to make it worse his hands had grown sweaty and clammy. He grabbed some champagne off the tray of a nearby servant and gulped it down. His sight became fuzzy but he ignored it. He needed some liquid courage right about now because the presence of the gorgeous hero next to him was making him feel like he was melting. And her skin tight suit that wrapped itself around every possible curve of her body wasn’t helping either. 

But Adrien was brought out of his thoughts as a very brave nobleman walked up to the hero to his right and held out his hand. 

“I would be honored if you let me dance with you, Ladybug.” The man said as he puffed out his shoulders and straightened his spine ever so slightly. 

Adrien wasn’t very happy with this new development and helped back a sneer that was trying to force itself onto his face. 

But he was beaten to it by the hero.

“Thank you for the offer but I do not believe it would be appropriate,” Ladybug said smoothly, not moving from her spot next to Adrien. “And what I am wearing is not appropriate to dance in either.”

The nobleman nodded, retracted his hand, and left them them as he slipped back into the crowd of people dancing, drinking, and eating. 

Adrien let out a sigh of relief but felt a new weight press against his heart. 

If she told that man that it would not be appropriate for her to dance then that means there’s no way she is going to dance with me either.

A frown that Adrien didn’t notice was even on his face deepened. 

Once again he was brought out of his thoughts by the movement of Ladybug. She walked over to his father and bowed her head. 

“I will be retiring to my house.” She said. “I would like to thank you for the prestigious award and to tell you that you will not regret it.”

His father examined the hero in front of him and took a sip of the red wine that was in his hand the whole night. 

“You are welcome to stay here in the palace.” He said but didn’t let the statement sound like a question but more as a reminder.

“I thank you for that but there is much to prepare for tomorrow.” She said as she lifted her head. 

“Then let my guards escort you home.”

Ladybug cringed slightly. So slightly that the guards next to the King and Adrien didn’t notice. But Adrien did and by the scrutiny in his father's eye, he guessed the King did too. 

“As I said, I would prefer to keep my civilian life out of my duty to the Kingdom.” Ladybug said, phrasing it as a request but Adrien and the King knew it was not. 

“Of course.” Was the only response she got. She waited a few seconds to see if he would add anything, but when he stayed silent and waved to the servant to pour him some wine, she knew the conversation was done and she was free to go.

She slipped through the guards and through a guards passage so that she wouldn’t cause any disruption to the party due to her leaving.

She slipped out the thick wooden door and into the night air. The sound of crickets surrounded her as she slipped onto the back of her horse and rode off, the hooves clicking on the cobblestone. 

Meanwhile back at the party, Adrien was feeling very lonely. His right side feeling very empty from the disappearance of Ladybug. 

“Adrien.” His father commanded and Adrien turned his attention to him. The King didn't bother to even move his head or look at Adrien. Instead he took a sip from his glass of wine. “I want you to find out who Ladybug is under the mask.”

Adrien was taken aback. He knew his father wanted to know Ladybugs civilian self but he also thought that his father respected her request to keep it private.

“But father-” 

“Am I clear,” his father said, ice coating every word. He turned his head and met Adriens gaze with his own glare. “Or do I need to repeat myself.”

“No father, you have been very clear.” Adrien gulped.

His father turned back to watching the party and took a sip of wine but a drop of the red liquor traveled down his neck, making a red stained path as if it was blood.

…

Marinette sat on her little balcony that overlooked Paris. Her feet were propped up on a wooden crate as she sketched out some of her newest designs in a leather notebook. It was a gift from her father on her 18th birthday. He had been saving up for it since she was 16 and the look of joy on his face as she unwrapped the parchment to reveal the gift was priceless. 

Yes, today was her 18th birthday. And rather than spend it with her loving family and dearest friends, she spent it in a crowded and sweaty ballroom that was filled with the scent of liquor. 

It was a ball that was held in her honor but it was filled with people she didn’t know and who didn’t know her. Literally. Her red polka dot mask prevented them. But it’s not as if they really care who her civilian self is. A lowly baker's daughter isn’t of importance in society and therefore not worth respect. Until she puts on a mask and pretends to be a hero.

Yeah, pretend. That’s what Marinette felt like she was doing. Pretending. 

She had the skill, the knowledge, and all the materials to being Ladybug but she never felt like Ladybug. She felt like a little kid trying to fit into the world's largest pair of boots.

Granted she was the one who made them to wear but she made them a little too big and was now refusing to throw them out. Because those pair of boots just won her a medal and a title. 

Not as if she could boast about it though. And they would both be revoked if anyone found out who Ladybug really is. 

But Marinette pushed those dark self hating thoughts out of her head and focused on the design she was currently conjuring. It was a floor length ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. The overflowing bottom was made of layers upon layers of yellow georgette. The top of the sweetheart neckline was outlined with black silk that added a pop of edginess to the dress that screamed ‘pretty princess’. 

The dress was for the the daughter of the Duke of Paris, Chloe Bourgeois. She had given Marinette some very important instructions about how she wanted the dress to convey.

One of which was, “Make it scream ‘I’m a perfect princess and perfect for Prince Adrien since we are soulmates.’ “

Marinette had muttered under her breath, “More like screaming ‘desperate’ if you ask me.” 

To which Chloe had shot a very mean glare. 

“I’m a very powerful and important woman,” Chloe had said as she lifted her nose up to Marinette. Who even says that? “The fact that I’m even allowing a baker's daughter like you design my dress is remarkable on it’s own. But every dress that has caught Gabriel Agreste’s eye was made by you.”

Marinette blushed slightly at the mention of her works being seen by the King. She had known this since the young men and women she designed for would come back, gushing to her about how they needed her to design dozens of more dresses since the King had commented on theirs. 

And they had many opportunities to show off Marinette’s designs since the King seemed to have a ball every other day. 

What a great way to spend the people's money. On parties that even the people couldn’t go to unless they were rich or royal. 

Marinette sighed as she set down her book down on the space next to her on the seat and stood up. She walked to the edge of the balcony and rested her elbows on the stone. 

She could see her breath float out into the night air and get carried away by the soft breeze that moved her small baby hairs. 

She inhaled the cool freshness of the air around her and let it consume her. 

She had always liked the cold. The biting at her exposed skin made her feel alive. The tearing up of eyes and numbness of toes and fingers reminded her that she was there and she wasn’t just some small consciousness created by a brain stuck in a body. 

She thought back to tonight. To the feeling of brushing shoulders with Prince Adrien. How he looked in that fitted tunic, his biceps straining through the fabric. He was lean but he still had some muscle.

Marinette wiped at the tiny bit of drool that slid down her chin. She blamed it on the scent of the bakery beneath her but she couldn’t fool herself. 

Princess Marinette.

No, that didn’t sound right. 

Princess Ladybug.

Yeah, that seemed right. Ladybug would be more likely to marry Adrien since she was a hero and had gained a title tonight.

Marinette’s pink nightgown billowed from a gust wind. She shivered and remembered how little she was wearing. The nightgown only reached her mid thigh and the tiny straps on her shoulders weren’t keeping her arms warm. How could they?

She sighed as she looked on the quiet city that was sprawled out as far as she could see.

She waited a few more minutes. For what, she didn’t know. For anything maybe. But who could possibly be out running along the roofs of paris other than Ladybug. No one.

…

Adrien gazed out his window, staring at the far away city if Paris. He could see the thousands of lights twinkling in the night. Calling to him. But he had no balcony to jump out of. No window in his room that could open. Courtesy to his overprotective and overbearing father. 

He looked around his room. Though it was big and full of objects they were all meaningless. And the size only made him feel farther away from any other person. The guards situated outside of his room didn’t count.

His mind drifted to Ladybug as it always did when there was a lapse in activity around him. Her raven hair and large bluebell eyes that were sharp and clear. He could tell she was always assessing the room she was in and everyone who was in it too. She didn’t hunch but stood up straight and walked with so much confidence that others around her would straighten their backs too. 

He admired that. The only presence he had was his title. If you took that away no one would ever think of him as confident, or strong, or a leader. 

Just Adrien. Prince Adrien didn’t exist. Not yet. Just Adrien with a crown. Just a boy with some word before his name that seemed to command undeserved respect for him. 

He stayed up for a few more minutes. Waiting for something. Anything. But his door and windows were locked shut. And he was trapped another night in an empty room.


End file.
